The ICCAT Secretariat has 36 staff: 21 in the Professional or Higher category (P), 15 in the General Services Category (GS)
and in local contracts (equivalent to GS scale).

Executive Secretary

The Executive Secretary is responsible for the selection and administration of the staff of the
Commission and oversees the implementation of the main functions for the Commission, such as:

(a) coordination of research programs;
(b) preparation of budget estimates for review by the Commission;
(c) authorization of the disbursement of funds in accordance with the budget;
(d) accounting for the funds of the Commission;
(e) arrangement of cooperation with sister organizations;
(f) compilation of necessary fishery statistics;
(g) preparation of scientific, administrative and other reports

Assistant Executive Secretary

Dr. Miguel Neves dos Santos undertakes all the tasks delegated to him by the Executive Secretary, including management of the Secretariat and representation of the ICCAT Secretariat at meetings of a technical and/or administrative nature. In addition, he serves as the Scientific Coordinator, carrying out tasks related to coordination of research programs, compilation of fishery statistics, preparation of reports and coordination with sister organizations. He is responsible for the Department of Translation and Publications as well as coordination of work between the Departments of Statistics and Compliance. He is also responsible for coordination between the Secretariat and the SCRS along with preparation of SCRS meetings and management of Commission meeting documents.

Activities on Research and Statistics

Because of its mandate to manage and conserve tuna fishery resources, ICCAT members carry out a wide spectrum of scientific research and monitoring activities. The Secretariat is directly involved in coordinating some of these activities, although much of the practical work is carried out by the Contracting Parties. The Secretariat maintains a large number of databases containing information on fishery statistics useful for stock assessment, as well as compliance-related records. The activities on research and statistics, under the direct supervision of the Scientific Coordinator, are conducted by the Department of Research and Statistic. This Department is staffed by eight people: A Department Head, a Fishery Data Analyst, a Biostatistician, two database Programmers, a Technical Assistant, a VMS Program Manager and an Information Technology specialist.

Dr. Paul De Bruyn is the Head ofthe Department of Research and Statistics as well as the By-Catch Coordinator.

Dr. Mauricio Ortiz oversees activities related to the analysis of tuna and tuna like species data included in the ICCAT databases.

Mr. Carlos Palma oversees activities related to the creation and maintenance of databases.

Department of Compliance

Over the last few years, the Commission has increasingly adopted a number of Recommendations and Resolutions that require CPCs to report various types of information such as vessel lists, compliance reports, etc. The amount of this information that needs to be assimilated by the Secretariat and transmitted to the Commission is such that a Department of Compliance has become necessary to accommodate this need. The Department is staffed by four people: A Department Head, two Compliance Officers who will be primarily responsible for the Department and a data entry assistant. The Executive Secretary will give overall supervision to the Department.

Department of Translation and Publications

The Commission's work involves numerous tasks related to the compilation, adoption, translation and publication of meeting reports and scientific articles. The Department of Translation and Publications is responsible for these tasks as well as the webpage design. The Department is staffed by six people: Two English, two Spanish and two French Translators. The Department is coordinated by the Assisstant Executive Secretary.

Department of Administration and Finance

The Commission has grown considerably with regards to tasks and the personnel hired by ICCAT to carry out its mandate. Within the Secretariat, administrative and financial tasks have been consolidated in the Department of Administration and Finance . The Department is comprised of eight people, a Department Head, two accounting assistants, an administrative secretary, an administrative assistant, an administrative assistant to the Executive Secretary , two support staff members in charge of copying and mailing.

ICCAT Atlantic wide research programme for Bluefin Tuna (GBYP)

In 2009, the Commission approved an extra-budgetary contribution for a complex, Atlantic-wide Research Program for Bluefin Tuna (GBYP). The overall goal of the Program is to improve the scientific basis to formulate management decisions for bluefin tuna in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

The Program includes a list of actions to be carried out over various years, such as recovering basic data collection, improving understanding of key biological and ecological processes or improving assessment models and the provision of scientific advice.

The Program, which planned for a five-year period, started in January 2010. The Funds for the first year have been provided to the Secretariat to start the Program and such funding is expected to be renewed annually for up to five years. A Coordinator, hired under the Program funds, is in charge of implementing the Program's activities. A Steering Committee comprised of the SCRS Chair, the two rapporteurs of the Bluefin Tuna Species Group, an external expert and the ICCAT Executive Secretary will oversee the Program.

Atlantic Ocean Tuna Tagging Programme (AOTTP)

The Atlantic Ocean Tuna Tagging Programme (AOTTP) is an important research programme funded by voluntary contributions from CPCs, mainly the European Union. Its objectives are to contribute to data collection and improve the information for tropical tuna stock assessments, in order to provide sound scientific advice on the management of these tuna species.

AOTTP will collect, collate and analyze tag-recapture data for the most important tropical Atlantic tuna species, ie. skipjack, bigeye, and yellowfin. The ambition is to tag at least 120,000 fish over 5 years using a range of conventional and electronic tags.

Activities of AOTTP will include the chartering of professional fishing vessels, the deployment of tagging and tag-recovery teams, data collection, scientific interpretation, the development and execution of training courses, and the instigation of awareness campaigns to promote tag-recovery.

A Steering Committee comprised of the SCRS Chair, the three rapporteurs of the Tropical Tuna Species Group, the Tropical Tuna Group Coordinator, an external expert and the ICCAT Executive Secretary will oversee the Program. A Coordinator, was hired to implement the Program's activities.